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BULLETIN
[NUMISMATICS INTERNATIONAL
FOUNOI 0 1964
Volume 29 Number 7 ISSN: 0197-3088 Price .... Two Dollars
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
FEATURE ARTICLES
Engraved Puzzles, by Bob Forrest 163
Sun-Face on Indian Coins, by Devendra Handa 158
Wellington in Lower Canada, by Peter Kraneveld 149
DEPARTMENTS
Book News & Reviews — 166
Member Notice Page 168
INSIDE N.L
Librarian’s Report 147
Membership Chairman’s Report — 147
OTHER ITEMS
A Curious Dutch Doit, by Matthew J. van der Voort 148
CHINESE SYMBOLISM: Feng-Huang -- The Bird of Paradise,
by Patrick D. Hogan 168
CHINESE SYMBOLISM: Lung — The Dragon, by Patrick D. Hogan 165
Coins of King Edward VIII, by Soli R. Icewalla 167
Countermarks for Lesbos, by Patrick D. Hogan 162
Money Between Gravel 156
The 1911 Coinage of Canada, by Dolores H. Davis 157
Copyrighted by Numismatics International, P.O. Box 670013, Dallas, Texas USA 75367-0013
JULY 1994
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INSIDE NX
MEMBERSHIP CHAIRMAN’S REPORT
July, 1994 Applications for Membership: The following persons have applied for
membership. If no written objections are received by September 1, 1994, their
membership will become effective on that date.
2441 Kenneth Seymore, P. O. Box 1342, Upland, CA 91745
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LIBRARIAN’S REPORT
I. Acknowledgement is made below to those who have donated material to the NI
Library:
Grover C. Criswell
US60.CriG: 1992:CWB
CRISWELL, GROVER C.
Confederate war bonds.
Pub. 1992, 72pp, illus.
US60.CriG:1991:CM
CRISWELL, GROVER C.
Colonel Grover Criswell’s compendium, a guide to Confederate
Money.
Pub. 1991, 58pp, illus.
Serge Huard
JM40.NazV:1993:SC
NAZAZOV, V. A.
Summary catalog of the coin projects, patterns, fantasies, and
coins not issued, of the Soviet Union. (Russian text)
Pub. 1993, 46pp, illus.
147
II. In addition to the above we would also like to thank Randolph Zander and Cecil
Webster for their gifts of numismatic material to the NI Library.
III. In our April Bulletin we listed under an unknown source the work by Carlos
Castan and Juan R. Cayon, Las monedas Espanolas desde Don Pelayo a Juan Carlos
I, anos 718 a 1979. our thanks to Michael Scott who quickly pointed out that the
book was donated to the NI Library by the co-author Juan Cayon. We appreciate
Michael Scott’s kindness in bringing this to our attention for the Castan/Cayon is a
significant addition to the NI Library collection and we do want to publicly
acknowledge Mr. Cayon’s thoughtfulness in providing the Library with a copy.
Granvyl G. Hulse, Jr., Book Librarian
James D. Haley, Periodical Librarian
A CURIOUS DUTCH DOIT
Matthew J. van der Voort, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
(Reprinted from NI Bulletin, March, 1971)
As many collectors, and certainly those who collect Dutch coins, will know that in
the time of the Dutch Republic of the Seven United Provinces, each province struck
its own coins but under the general rule of the combined Government at the Hague,
the so-called General States. Within the limits of the thus ordered alloy and weight,
the provinces were free to strike their coins.
The Province of Zeeland had as its design a swimming lion with the legend "Luctor
et Emergo" - I struggle and escape.
Now in 1754 the die-cutter and mintmaster of the Mint at Middelburg, the capital of
the Province of Zeeland, had a quarrel with the provincial authorities about his reward
and the consolidation of his position. This Mintmaster was named Holtzhey. Since
the authorities did not give in to his demands, he cut a die and had doits struck with
the legend "Luctor et Ementor" — I struggle but perish.
When this was discovered, he was fired from his office and as the story goes,
sentenced to imprisonment as long as the coins would have disappeared from
circulation.
There is no documental evidence of this sentence, which seems to be an impossible
one in view of the fact that to this day once in a while such a doit comes to the light.
In my collection is an EF specimen and, more important, one of the same date, 1754,
with the normal legend. Of course, the provincial authorities decided the coin was
no legal tender, but the general public was only too eager to keep such a doit. The
official withdrawal of the coins was a failure since the trick of Holtzhey was
considered a good joke, by the people anyway.
The other doits with the date 1754 were of course legal tender, since they were struck
by Holtzhey’s successor, who, believe it or not, was his own son!
148
Wellington in lower Canada
Peter Kraneveld, Draveil, France
If Time magazine had existed, it would have elected Arthur Wellesley
Man of the year 1815. Arthur who? You probably know him better as
the Duke of Wellington, Prince of Waterloo. He acquired those
grandiose titles in 1815. He had defeated Napoleon’s generals in
Portugal and Spain and invaded France. Then he led the allied1 armies
to an uneasy victory at Quatre Bras and took up positions on St. Jean
hill, east of Waterloo. A day of mutual killing might have ended in a
draw or even a French victory if Grouchy had done a better job of
pursuing the Prussians Napoleon had beaten at Ligny. Instead, Blucher2 3
returned just in time to decide the battle.
As was usual in the British army of those days, Wellington had made
career by using his connections. He was aide-de-camp of the viceroy of
Ireland and in 1793 he bought a lieutenant-colonel’s commission. After
spending a few years in India, Germany and Denmark as a diplomat he
got his big chance in 1808, when he was sent to Portugal as a
lieutenant-general with 10,000 men. He beat Junot at Roliga and
Vimeiro and forced Soult to fall back. The Spaniards were happy to
give him a hand to liberate Spain. He succeeded admirably and was
promoted field marshal. After Waterloo he was a certified hero.
Well, maybe not everywhere. The British and their loyal colonies loved
him. Benedetto Pistrucci made a model (140 mm.) of a medal for the
Battle. The real thing was just too large to be struck, but Pistrucci got
to design the St. George and the dragon reverse that first appeared on
the 1817 sovereigns, graced a number of gold coins and crowns and
persists on some British pseudo-coin issues. Wellington just wasn’t as
popular in France and the US, where in 1814 his veterans had sacked
Washington, to the disgust of Dolly Madison1.
' British and Netherlands. The Dutch commander, the later King William II, got
him the princely title
2 Blucher was as bad at big speeches as Napoleon was good at it. The Prussian
generals’ most “famous” speech to the assembled army, just before crossing the Rhine,
was: “So, jetzt wollen wir den Kerl Napoleon mal priigeln” (OK, let’s spank that boor
Napoleon).
3 Granvyl Hulse, the NI librarian, wrote me that on his great grandfathers’ death,
his purse contained the coins a person of that period living just south of the Canadian
border would use to pay his debts and included a Wellington token, which indicates
that they circulated in the US too! Nevertheless, a Boston merchant who settled in
Montreal took the trouble to replace Wellington on Breton 980 by an American Eagle.
149
The Napoleonic era brought radical changes in the way coins were
used. Before, coins were practically the only medium of exchange.
While in France, the failure of Law’s Bank had given the French a bad
taste of banknotes4 the Bank of England banknote issues were so
successful that after the war, the Bank was surprised to find that the
public preferred paper money to gold.
In the case of copper coin the British were not so progressive. John
Hume had argued that it was wrong for the government to take a
margin on coin and that the metal of the coin should be worth its face
value. When his friend Isaac Newton became Mint Master in 1699 these
ideas were put into practice. The result was disastrous for the small
traders. Coining became a cost item, instead of a hidden tax. Between
1760, when George III acceded to the throne and 1816, when silver
coins were made token money, copper coins of all denominations were
struck only in 10 out of 56 years5 6.
With the price of copper on a bungee cord, the British government had
no incentive to strike copper coin. At the same time, a loophole in the
law made it possible to strike private coppeC. The first wave of tokens
occurred from 1786, when Matthew Boulton used steam presses to
strike the first Parys Mines Co. tokens, to 1797, when regal copper was
again struck after a long interval. These were the wildly unpopular
“Cartwheel” pennies and two penny pieces of 1797: pocket destroyers
of one and two ounces of pure copper. As the price of copper went up
at the outbreak of war7 , these coins could survive only because they
were handy weights for grocer’s scales8.
The rise of industry, new machinery and a continuing dearth of copper
coin brought about a second wave of tokens between 1811 and 1817.
They celebrated the gains of the industrial revolution: there were issued
4 see Lips for the argument that one of the most important reasons Napoleon lost the
war was that while he created a solid monetary system, the British created a huge
public debt by printing uncovered banknotes | Lips, Harry Paysage financier de
I’epoque Napoleonienne in Numismatique et Change, number 220 (September
1992) pages 29 to 31 and number 222 (November 1992) pages 37 to 39.
5 1770-1775, 1797, 1799 and 1806-1807.
6 The law was enacted at a time that copper coin was rare and despised. It referred
only to silver coins.
7 Copper is quite useful in such items as cannons and cannonballs. In 1797 the
price of copper was £105 a ton, in 1808 it was up to £200 a ton |Seaby, Peter and
Monica Bussell: British Tokens and their values (London 1 970) |.
8 My copies are somewhat underweight. Maybe this made the coins even more
popular with the grocers so despised by Napoleon, who called the British a “nation of
shopkeepers”.
150
by metal works (showing collieries and engines), but also workhouses9,
drapers and a real estate agent. Some of them were neutral, showing the
local castle or another well-known sight, a coat of arms, commerce or
a national symbol, others were showing a popular hero. And who could
be more popular than Wellington?
Davis10 gives a charming account of the Wellington tokens. Mr. John
Kirby Picard, a lawyer and the owner of the Hull lead works was quite
a rich man, who had a magnificent house in Hull11, where the rich and
famous of his days were gambling. He enjoyed their protection, so he
could endeavour to issue tokens with Wellington’s bust. The Mint
Master’s wife sent him a profile of the General in 1812. Wellington
liked the idea and had the tokens introduced in the army in Spain. The
Prince Regent (the later George IV) invited him to court to show his
pieces. Since they are much smaller than other pennies of the period
they may at first not have been intended to circulate in Britain, but they
did circulate there, because in 1813 Picard called them in, complaining
about forgeries12
In 1816 new British regal coins came out. The gold coins were standard
coins: they could be privately minted (at the Mint and for a fee) and
melted at will and were legal tender for any amount. The small silver
coins were token coins: only the government could mint them, they
were lightweight and legal tender for a limited amount only, but
redeemable in gold. In 1817 the further issue of tokens was forbidden
and in 1821 new regal token copper coins were finally issued.
This development left a huge mass of henceforth worthless private
copper tokens on the market. Most could only be melted at a loss, since
peace had brought lower copper prices. For some, there was a solution,
though: they could circulate in Canada.
One of the first tokens to reach Canada was the Magdalen Island penny
9 A workhouse is an institutions were “drifters” were learned a trade. The intention
was good, but conditions were miserable.
10 Davis, W. J. The Nineteenth Century Token Coinage of Great Britain, Ireland, the
Channel Islands and the Isle of Man, to which are added tokens of over one penny
value of any period (Moseley 1904. reprinted London/New York 1969) pages 179 and
180.
" Summersgangs House on Holderness Road. Although a street by that name still
exists, I have found no mention of the house.
12 Picard died broke in 1 843.
151
(Breton 520)1' . This token, one of the heaviest to circulate in Canada
was introduced by Sir Isaac Coffin, when he visited his North American
possessions in 181514. Sometime between 1813 and 1816 light,
anonymous tokens started to appear in the Montreal area. The first
showed a ship (Breton 965 and 966), then came a type with a military
officer15 and the text “Victoria Nobis” (Victory is ours, Breton 982).
These pieces were lighter than the regal coins, lighter even than
contemporary British tokens. Their success paved the way for a flood
of even lighter tokens, showing Wellington and Brittania or a crowned
Irish harp on the reverse (Breton 969, 971, 972, 979, 980 and 981).
Similar tokens showed the ship, familiar from earlier imports (Breton
989, 990, 995, 996, 1003, 1004 and 1005) or the bust of a civilian16
(Breton 1006). Most if not all of these were made in Britain17.
The series was eventually succeeded by other light tokens, always
deteriorating in weight and quality of execution, more and more made
in Canada. The last and the worst series, the “blacksmith” and “Tiffin”
tokens, appeared first in 1825. They were eventually driven out of
circulation by tokens issued by local banks. Light tokens made a
short-lived comeback in 1837, when the Bank of Montreal used the
plural “sous” on its one sou token. Tokens of reasonable weight were
issued by local merchants until the introduction of a national Canadian
coinage in 1858.
So much is clear: most, if not all “Wellingtons” were struck in Britain.
Some circulated in Britain (or among the British troops in Spain),
others in Canada, some in both places. Davis classifies some as English
or Irish, others as “non-local”. Practically all are claimed as Canadian
by Breton.
13 Breton numbers refer to Breton, P. N., Popular Illustrated Guide to Canadian
Coins, Medals, Tokens, etc. (Montreal 1912)
14 The “Copper Company of Upper Canada” tokens dated 1794 reached Canada
only around 1870; they are made for collectors, rather than for circulation as
merchants’ tokens. The “Vexator Canadiensis” pieces of 1811 fit in the “blacksmith"
series issued between 1835 and 1837.
15 Courteau takes him for Admiral Nelson (Courteau, E.G. The Non-Local Tokens
of Canada in The Numismatist, May 1924)
18 McLachlan takes him for Louis Joseph Papineau, a French Canadian patriot
(McLachlan, R. W. Is the “mysterious” bust on Canadian coins really that of
Wellington? in The Numismatist, June 1916).
17 Bowman links many to Thomas Halliday,an engraver of Birmingham (Bowman,
F. The designers and engravers of Canadian coins and tokens in The Numismatist,
January 1949).
152
McLachlan1* argues that all copper tokens circulated for halfpence in
Canada. He therefore takes all pennies and farthings to be British,
rather than Canadian. He bases his conclusion on a statement made on
the 10th of March 1817 from one John Reinhardt, tobacconist, to a
special committee of the House of Commons19 that for two years past a
considerable quantity of Pieces of Copper ... has circulated in the
Country ... as Copper Coin or Halfpence. These pieces have been in
part clandestinely introduced into the Country as merchandise. / have
for nearly two years past received and paid them as Copper Coin ...
About the month of December last they suddenly fell into discredit and
no one would take them as Coin. The chief reason is that they abound
too much ... Most of these pieces were inscribed “Wellington” ...
some of them have been imported among cargoes by merchants.
If one takes Mr. Reinhardts’ statement literally, it would indeed indicate
that “Copper Coin” and “Halfpence” are synonyms. There are
arguments against such an assumption. These rest on the series with the
RH monogram on the obverse and a ship on the reverse (Breton 989 to
991). This series consist of a penny, halfpenny and farthing. The
halfpenny is generally accepted as Canadian, even by McLachlan20. It
seems highly unlikely that the halfpennies were produced only for
Canada and the other two tokens were made exclusively for circulation
in Britain, especially because the halfpennies and pennies are about
equally common.
1 am inclined to believe that Reinhardts’ statement merely indicates that
the overwhelming majority of the copper was taken for halfpence and
that the RH pennies and farthings were struck for Canada. This being
said, it is still possible that the issuers were unable to circulate many
farthings (they are quite scarce) and that the pennies were accepted only
for half a penny. I would also accept as Canadian a very rare token
showing George III on the obverse with the text BON POUR DEUX
SOUS and the date 1812 and on the reverse Commerce seated with the
text ONE PENNY TOKEN. However, in view of the similarity of this
,s McLachlan, R. W. The Canadian Wellington Tokens in The Canadian
Antiquarian and Numismatic Journal, third series, volume IV (1902) pages 41
to 49.
19 Journal of the House of Assembly of Lower Canada for 1817, page 114.
20 R. W. McLachlan, The Coins of Canada in The Numismatist, October 1914.
The ship on the RH tokens is also used on a token assigned to Halifax, Nova Scotia
(Breton 965).
153
token to Breton 958, I accept this token and its variants21 as Canadian as
well.
A series, similar to the RH tokens has a seated female personifying
Commerce on the obverse and the value in letters on the reverse
(Breton 962 to 964). It is generally accepted that these tokens were
struck for use in Britain but later shipped to Canada. I would prefer to
call them British, since they were struck for use there, but it is possible
to argue that they belong in a collection of Canadian tokens, because
they circulated in Lower Canada.
In view of the above-mentioned, well documented description by Davis,
I think it is undeniable that Breton 984 to 988 are British. On the
strength of this classification and Mr. Reinhardts’ statement I reject as
Canadian Breton 970, 974 and 975.
In September 1912 Mr. MacLachlan argued in a paper, presented at an
ANA meeting that Breton 977, 978 and 983 are British, as they are not
found in Canadian hoards. I accept his argument and therefore reject
these tokens as Canadian.
In the following table I am reviewing the tokens that are listed by both
Breton and Davis, suggesting a classification and giving the name of the
issuer when known. You should remember, though, that there is no
reason why the same token could not have circulated in both areas.
Even those made for Canada could have slipped into circulation in
Britain. They were made there and they may have been the
“counterfeits” Picard was complaining about. Nevertheless, I can only
agree with a remark made by Mr. McLachlan made in the ANA paper
quoted above: If we were to accept as Canadian all the coins that were
made current in Canada by Royal proclamation our Canadian list would
have to be expanded so as to embrace the coins of the known world,
current during the eighteenth and earlier part of the nineteenth
centuries. In fact, by that standard, most US coins would qualify as
Canadian, since they were, until recently, legal tender there.
I would like to thank and recommend the NI library and Mr. Granvyl
Hulse for valuable help in the preparation of this article.
21 Breton 957 and 959.
154
Canadian and British tokens
Breton
Davis
#
Country
Issuer
880
Not local
65
Canada (Nova Scotia)
Carrit & Alport
886
Not local
71-74
Canada (Nova Scotia)
887
Not local
75
Canada (Nova Scotia)
888
Not local
67-70
Canada (Nova Scotia)
894
Dublin
71
Canada (Nova Scotia)
957
Not local
25-26
Canada, Lower
Tiffin
958
Not local
27-29
Canada, Lower
Tiffin
959
Not local
19-22
Canada, Lower
Tiffin
960
Not local
47-57
Canada, Lower
Tiffin
961
Not local
58-60
Canada, Lower
Tiffin
962
Not local
42-46
British and Canadian
963
Not local
106-107
British and Canadian
964
Not local
118
British and Canadian
965
Not local
101-103
British and Canadian
966
Not local
99-100
Canada, Lower
969
Not local
92
Canada, Lower
970
Not local
32-33
British (Not local)
971
Not local
88
Canada, Lower
972
Not local
89
Canada, Lower
973
Not local
91
Canada, Lower
974
Not local
35
British (Not local)
975
Dublin
54
British (Dublin)
976
Dublin
60
Canada, Lower
977
Not local
82
British (Not local)
978
Not local
80
British (Not local)
979
Not local
83-86
Canada, Lower
980
Not local
87
Canada, Lower
981
Dublin
61
Canada, Lower
982
Not local
79
Canada, Lower
983
Not local
61
British (Not local)
984
Yorkshire
93
British (Yorkshire)
J. K. Picard
985
Yorkshire
92
British (Yorkshire)
J. K. Picard
986
Yorkshire
107, 114
British (Yorkshire)
J. K. Picard
987
Yorkshire
99, 101
British (Yorkshire)
J. K. Picard
988
Yorkshire
116
British (Yorkshire)
J. K. Picard
989
Not local
38
Canada, Lower
990
Not local
104
Canada, Lower
991
Not local
117
Canada, Lower
994
Not local
109-114
Canada, Lower
1003
Not local
94
Canada, Lower
1004
Not local
95-96
Canada, Lower
1005
Not local
97
Canada, Lower
1007
Not local
115
Canada, Lower
1011
Not local
77
Canada, Lower
1012
Dublin
79-83
Canada, Lower
155
MONEY BETWEEN GRAVEL
863 Silver Coins and 21 Silver Pieces of Jewelry
(The following was extracted from an unnamed news magazine in Holland. It was
submitted by Albert Dirkzwager and was translated from Dutch to English by Dr.
Robert Turfboer.)
In February 1968, from piles of gravel on the East Harbor dike at Goes (Zeeland, the
Netherlands), emerged hundreds of thin, silver coins. A short time earlier this pile
of gravel had been scraped off the bottom of the river Maas [Meuse] near Roer
[between Maastricht and Nijmegen] by a dredge. Subsequendy the material had been
shipped to Goes.
Part of it - 245 tons - landed at the wharf of a concrete plant and another 125 tons
was used for concrete right away. This is no longer available for searching.
In a small amount of gravel, which was dropped on a road, private citizens still find
a few coins. The large portion (of the coins and jewelry) however was discovered
when the 245 tons at the wharf was systematically searched. This lead to a find of
883 silver coins and 21 silver pieces of jewelry.
Right away a problem arises: who can claim this treasure legally? Legal conclusions,
sponsored by all parties involved from the dredgers to the wharf, find no right for
treasure that is classified as movable property, like dredged gravel. The Royal
Coin/Medal Cabinet declared the find important. In January 1969 the Limburg
Museum of Art and Antiquities bought the coins. The Maastricht Museum has placed
79 coins and 21 jewelry items in its permanent exhibit, the rest is kept in depot.
156
According to the Royal Coin Cabinet the original treasure must have been much
larger. No one knows of course how many coins remained outside the dredged area,
and how many were lost in transit by ship and by truck. How many coins got lost
permanently and how many were found by individuals? After a request from the
Zeeland Numismatic Circle, collectors and dealers reported and brought in for
registration 250 additional coins and 6 jewelry items. These items were purchased
from third parties who had obtained these items from the find area. This has now
become the largest find of Carolingian material ever in the Netherlands. Almost two
thirds of the treasure are coins of the Emperor Louis de Pious (814-840 AD).
The jewelry items are mostly from belts, like buckles, etc. Together (6 items) they
weigh 350 grams, whereas the (250) coins weigh 1800 grams. The jewelry therefore
made up a considerable portion of the unknown owner’s treasure which he entrusted
to the bottom of the Maas.
********************************************************************
THE 1911 COINAGE OF CANADA
Dolores H. Davis, WiUiamstown, New Jersey, NI #320
(Reprinted from NI BULLETIN, November, 1970)
"The Godless Coin" or "The Graceless Coins" term was widely used for the 1911 1,
5, 10, 25, and 50 cent issues of Canadian coinage upon which the traditional DEI
GRA (Dei Gracia) was omitted. Because of this a large number of these coins were
defaced in numerous ways.
The only 1911 coin thought by most people to be struck retaining the words DEI
GRA in the inscription was the 191 1C Gold Sovereign. However, there was another
issue of 1911 in the denomination of a $1.00 silver piece. The obverse of the coin
bears the crowned effigy of His Majesty George V wearing the Royal Robes and
looking to the left with the inscription: "GEORGIYS V DEI GRA: REX ET LND:
IMP:". The reverse of the coin bears the denomination, the word "CANADA" and
the date within a wreath of Maple Leaf. The Royal Mint, London, England prepared
dies and shipped them to Canada, but they were never used by the Ottawa Mint.
However, the Royal Mint in London is know to have struck 4 pieces, three of which
are supposedly in British Museums and the fourth piece in a private collection.
The $1.00 dies and Royal Mint issues therefore shows proof that the $1.00
denomination for Canada was contemplated struck in silver twenty-four (24) years
| prior to the first issue for circulation in 1935, commemorating the 25th anniversary
of the reign of King George V.
157
SUN-FACE ON INDIAN COINS
Devendra Handa, Chandigarh, India, NI #2404
Fig. 1
Gwalior Coins with Sun-face
Gwalior coins with sun-face on the obverse (Fig. 1) are well known. Some specimens
of this type were first listed by Yeoman1 but all the known coins were published by
Jan Lingen who rightly observed that "The sunface coins were one of the first
machine-struck coins of Gwalior State and are dated from Samvat 1944 (1887) to
Samvat 1946 (1889). 1,2 Gwalior State was founded by Ranoji, the son of the
headman of a village in the Satara district (Maharashtra), who in 1714 AD became
the slipper- bearer to Balaji Visvanatha, the first Peshwa. From this humble position,
from which the name "Sindhia" is derived, he rose to become one of the foremost
leaders of the Marathas under the second Peshwa, Baji Rao I (1720-40 AD). It was,
however, Ranoji’s youngest son Mahadji who laid the real foundations of an
independent state and captured with great skill and bravery the impregnable fort of
Gwalior. After Mahadji’s death on February 12, 1794, Daulat Rao acceded to the
throne. It was he who shifted the capital from Ujjain to Gwalior. Mahadji’s coins
158
show a scimitar and a symbol with five arrow tips pointing to a central dot.3 We feel
that this is a solar symbol which continued on the coins of the subsequent rulers and
was later given a prominent and more aesthetic shape in the form of sun-face on
Gwalior coins during 1887-89 AD.
\
Fig. 2
Maratha coin of Gulshanabad Mint
©
V
y
The earlier occurrence of the sun-face as a numismatic symbol may, however, be seen
on the Maratha silver rupees of Gulshanabad (Nasik) bearing the date AH 1183
(=1769 AD), struck during the reign of Peshwa Madhav Rao (176 1-72). 4 The symbol
occurs in the sin of the word Manus on the reverse (Fig. 2). It, however, disappears
as suddenly as it appeared on the said coin. The precise causes of its appearance and
disappearance are not known. However, four years later, the sun-face reappears on
the silver coins of another Maratha State in Central India - coins of Malhamagar
(Indore) issued during the reign of Ahilya Bai Holkar, and continues subsequently
(Fig. 3). 5
159
It is well known that Malhar Rao Holkar, the founder of the Holkar state of Indore,
was in the service of the Peshwas and it was after the defeat and death of Balaji Raji
Rao in the Third Battle of Panipat in 1761 AD that he retired to Indore where he died
four years later. The adoption of the sun-face symbol by the Holkars is thus not
surprising. It remained the most popular symbol on the Holkar coins until 1902 when
the Indore mint was closed by arrangement with the Government when it was obliged
to accept the British protection.6
Silver rupee of George Thomas
Sun-face occurs on the silver rupees of George Thomas also (Fig. 4). These pieces
were struck from the Sahibabad Hansi mint and bear the date 1214/42 (=1799
AD/42). George Thomas was an Irish military adventurer who had come to India
with the fleet of Admiral Hughes. He deserted the Royal Navy in 1781 in Madras
and joined the army of the Nizam of Hyderabad as a private gunner. Then he had a
short stint with the Poligars of South India. In 1787, he reached Delhi whereafter he
served Begum Samru for some time and then joined the service of the Maratha chief
Appa Khande Rao, a feudatory of Sindhia, in 1793. He defeated the Sikhs and
captured from them Shamli, an important town near the eastern bank of the Yamuna
in Muzaffamagar district (U.P.). After Appa Rao’s death in 1797, he was taken in
service by Bapuji Malhar, the Maratha Governor of Saharanpur, but was dismissed
later and became a freebooter, plundering towns and cities around Delhi. By the
close of 1798, George Thomas carved out an independent principality for himself and
established a mint in his capital Hansi and issued coins as noted above.7 Having
remained in the service of the Marathas, George Thomas must have been conversant
with the currencies of the Maratha states of Madhya Pradesh and may have adopted
the sun-face symbol from them. It occurs in the sin of the word Jalus on the reverse
of his coin just like many of the Indore coins.
In 1758, the Marathas under Raghunath Rao got an opportunity to intercede in the
Punjab as a result of intrigues and political manoeuvering at the court of Delhi. They
overran Lahore and Multan, appointed Adina Beg as subahdar and left Shavaji, a
relation of Sindhia, to support him with a body of troops. It is said that Adina Beg
agreed to pay an annual tribute of seventy-five lakh rupees but he died soon after
taking over as the subahdar and was succeeded by a Maratha officer. The Marathas
were, however, obliged to leave Lahore and Multan when Ahmad Shah Abdali
approached Punjab after quelling disturbances in Afghanistan in 1759.8 Lahore was
captured in 1764 by the Sikhs who started striking their coins from that place. They
overran Multan also in 1767 AD.
Sun-face occurs on some Sikh coins also (Fig. 5).9 It is depicted in the lam of the
160
Fig. 5
Sikh coin of VS 1857 with sun-face.
word Akal on the reverse of some Nanak-shahi rupees of the Sikhs from Samvat 1857
(= 1800 AD). This date is quite close to the date of George Thomas’ rupees bearing
this symbol. So the Sikhs, too, seem to have adopted it from the same source as
George Thomas. Besides the Maratha incursion in Punjab referred to above, there is
enough of evidence of the Sikhs fighting against the Marathas and sometimes even
coming close to them. Sindhia had concluded a treaty with the Sikhs on May 9, 1785
to pacify them but peace did not last long and hostilities started again after 1788.
During 1790-91, the Sikhs continued to disturb Sindhia’s territory and the relations
between the two were quite strained. During May- August 1791, the Maratha
commanders at Panipat, when hard up for money, got Mahadji’s approval to proceed
against Patiala to realize arrears of tribute. The Sikhs continued their raids in the
Gangetic doab and became more violent after Mahadji’s death. The Sikh massacre
and plunder of pilgrims at Haridwar on 10th April, 1796 is well known. They clashed
with George Thomas also during 1797-98 when he was in the service of the Marathas.
The rise of Maharaja Ranjit Singh in the trans-Satluj region and the defeat of the
Marathas at the hands of the British during 1803-05 put an end to Sikh-Maratha
sallies but socio-political relationships between Ranjit Singh and the Marathas
continued even thereafter for some time.10 It is, therefore, no surprise if we find
sun-face on Sikh coins which was a popular motif on Maratha coins of Indore from
1773 onwards.
Notes and References
1. Pv. S. Yeoman, A Catalogue of Modern World Coins, 6th revised edition, Racine,
Wisconsin, 1964, p. 252.
2. J. Lingen, "Sun-face Type Coins of Gwalior", Coin Review , Indore, Vol. I, No. 1
(October, 1975), pp. 9-11. See also The Standard Guide to South Asian Coins and
Paper Money since 1556 AD, Krause Publications, Iola, Wisconsin, 1981, pp. 169-70.
3. John Allan, Catalogue of the Coins in the Indian Museum Calcutta, Vol. IV,
Oxford, 1928, pp. 302-03, PI. XXII.9.
4. K. K. Maheshwari and Kenneth W. Wiggins, Maratha Mints and Coinage ,
Anjaneri, 1989, p. 77, Type T2a.
5. IMC, IV, pp. 315 ff. See also Dr. P. K. Sethi et al, A Study of Holkar State
Coinage, Indore, 1976.
161
6. Jerome Remick et al, The Guide Book and Catalogue of British Commonwealth
Coins (1649-1971 ), 3rd ed., Winnipeg, 1971, p. 369.
7. See for details W. Francklin, The Military Memoirs of George Thomas , London,
1803; C. Grey, European Adventurers of Northern India (1785-1849), edited by H.
L. O. Garret, Lahore, 1929; Shelf ord Bidwell, Swords for Hire, London, 1971; ONS
Newsletter, Nos. 117, 135, 137 and 138.
8. Maheshwari and Wiggins, op.cit, pp. 157-61.
9. Hans Herrli, The Coins of the Sikhs, Nagpur, 1993. pp. 63ff. It is found on the
Sikh coins of Kashmir also.
10. For details, see H. R. Gupta, History of the Sikhs, 4 Vols., New Delhi, 1982.
COUNTERMARKS FOR LESBOS
Patrick D. Hogan, Iowa City, Iowa, NI LM # 69
(Reprinted from NI Bulletin, May, 1971)
During the last half of the 19th century, when Ottoman rule over the islands of the
Aegean was losing strength, various Greek islands and mainland cities counterstamped
current coins for their use. Most authority in these cities was in the hands of the
Church Councils, and many numismatists consider these countermarks merely coins
stamped for Church usage, but it is known that the coins were generally put into
circulation in the neighboring countryside. One of the islands that counterstruck
Turkish and Egyptian coins found in circulation was the large island of Lesbos, where
two cities are known to have so counterstruck coins, normally copper pieces. The
more common municipality counterstrikes found are those of Ploumari while the less
common appear to be the Mytilene pieces. The Ploumari countermarked coins bear
three separate stamps, usually. The first is in Arabic, stating Baladir si Ploumari
(Municipality of Ploumari). Ploumari is rendered Pilmar, Bilmar or Plarnar. The date
below this is 1316/1897-8. The second counterstamp bears the Greek letters Delta Pi,
which is said to stand for Deme Plomarion (City of Ploumari). The third mark is said
to be a Church counterstamp, and consists of a Pi on one side and a Lambda on the
other side of the coin, both in script characters. The most common coin found with
these countermarks are 20-para pieces. I have not seen the Mytilene piece, but
understand that it bears a similar Arabic counterstamp, with "Midalu" replacing Pilmar
and the date 1301.
********************************************************************
"URCHIN”
A coin of Brabant, the "Urchin" was referred to in the 18th century as being equal to
one half of the Heller.
162
(Submitted by R. R. Kutcher)
ENGRAVED PUZZLES
Bob Forrest, Manchester, England, NI #2382
It is generally reckoned, or so it seems, that engraved coins whose histories have been
"tied down" are more valuable than those that defy all the researcher’s attempts at
attribution. It is certainly true that a great deal of satisfaction is to be gained from
cracking the mystery that surrounds a particular engraved coin, and relating it to
specific persons or events in history. But equally, part of the fascination of engraved
coins can be their very air of mystery. They give us the chance to wonder and to
speculate.
Take the interesting bit of folk-art shown in Fig. 1. It is probably of late 18th century
date (the underlying copper halfpenny has either worn or been filed smooth) and it
typifies the fascination of so many of these old engraved pieces, insofar as one can
derive great pleasure from speculating about what the piece is supposed to depict, and
what significance it held for the person who designed it or to whom it was given as
a keepsake. One side depicts a boy waving a flag. The other, a young girl holding
what could be a horseshoe. If so, this could well be a "good luck" piece, perhaps
indicative of one or other of the two children undertaking a long journey.
Figure 2
Fig. 2 is interesting for different reasons. It is a Victorian silver threepenny piece of
163
the period 1893-1901, with a loop added for suspension. The obverse has been left
intact, the reverse smoothed and engraved as shown. The irritating thing here is that
the piece is open to twin interpretations. Do we have here fish and weeds under
water, or sailing boats on the water, with reeds in the foreground? Was AP an angler
or a sailing enthusiast?
Figure 3
Another puzzling piece is shown in Fig. 3. This is an 1893 crown in VF+ condition
which, apart from signs of vigorous polishing, has been left intact save that the
reverse has been engraved, "Clerk’s Fee 5/-, Sep. 27, 1900." The puzzle here is why
would anyone engrave this on a coin which at that time was worth a great deal of
money? Is Clerk here a name or a profession? My own theory is that it may
commemorate the first wage of a young man starting out on his career as a clerk (of
court, say?).
Figure 4
Fig. 4 shows an even more cryptic piece. It is apparently a copper halfpenny of
1770-1775 vintage, worn totally smooth, and with the single word "WINE" engraved
upon it. Whether this is some sort of tavern/winery token/label, a wine connoisseur’s
novelty coin, or a one word allusion to Proverbs 20.1 is anyone’s guess! Two
hundred years ago, someone knew what it was for!
164
| ''rfu-
! drbjxil So^ruL
uiyrvd.t^TleAA.
Figure 5
Fig. 5 is not a coin, but is so odd that I cannot resist mentioning it here. It is
rectangular copper blank, apparently cut from a strip of that metal with bevelled
edges, and engraved with a somewhat gloomy quotation from the New Testament:
"The trumpet shall sound and the dead shall be reasead (=raised)" (I Corinthians
15.52). Goodness only knows what the purpose of this piece was, unless it was some
sort of pre-Second Coming and Resurrection of the Dead religious "medalet", or
perhaps a piece to be buried with the dead in the hope of resurrection. Either way,
the implications are somewhat morbid. If anyone can think of a remotely cheerful
alternative, please do let me know!
CHINESE SYMBOLISM: LUNG - THE DRAGON
Patrick D. Hogan, Iowa City, Iowa, NI LM #69
(Reprinted from NI Bulletin , Janaury, 1971)
The most common design motif on Imperial Chinese coins is the Dragon. The
Chinese word for dragon is LUNG. The Dragon possesses the head of a camel, horns
of a deer, ears of an ox, eyes of a hare, body of a serpent covered with the scales of
a fish, feet of tiger with talons of a hawk. It is depicted with flame-like emanations
from its shoulders and its hips, showing its divine origin. Its scales are of nine times
nine, the lucky number. Those on its neck lie in reverse order than those on its body.
The claws vary according to rank. His most priceless possession and attribute is the
CHU, sometimes called the pearl of spirituality. He carries it in his throat though it
floats in the air before him. LUNG brings Spring, rains; it is the fructifier of the
earth, the dominant power. It is the emblem of the Emperor, mighty in strength, the
guardian and protector of mankind. The water dragon is the symbol of the scholar,
the land dragon of the statesman, the sky dragon of the Emperor. The Chinese sky-
dragon has five claws, the Japanese has but only three. No mortal can survive the
sight of his entire body, so it is partially hidden in artistic portrayal. Mostly through
the use of clouds on coins.
********************************************************************
THE BITA SEN
Bita Sen was the Japanese name for bad or counterfeit coins.
165
(Submitted by R. R. Kutcher)
BOOK NEWS & REVIEWS
Catalogue Guide of Some Projected Patterns and Unadopted
. . . Soviet Coins. V.A. Nazaraov. Rostov-on-Don, 1993.
Card covers, 14x19cm, 45 pp., Russian text with line
drawings .
This small tentative catalogue is compiled chiefly from
articles by Moshnyagin and Dashevsky, Fortinsky, and some
items from the South Russian edition of Red Star, and from
correspondence with collectors. It lists and usually
describes various patterns, designs, and off-metal
experimental strikes, chiefly of the 1920s and 1930s, and
provides much material on the large series of patterns &c
of the 1950s and 1960s. The author states that he excludes
numerous "rumored" patterns, even if they come referred to
more than once. This booklet and R. Kaim's tentative
catalogue os some ten years back are the principal
published compilations on what remains still a sketchily
mapped field.
Reviewed by Randolph Zander.
*****
Standard Catalogue of World Paper Money, Volume Two,
General Issues. By Albert Pick. Edited by Neil Shafer and
Colin R. Bruce II. Krause Publications, Iola, 1994.
Hardcover, 8 1/2 x 11 inches, 1,280 pp., 10,000+
photographs, with valuations for over 22,000 notes from 280
issuing authorities. Available from Krause Publications,
Book Department NR, 700 E. State Street, Iola, WI 54990-
0001. Price is $55.00 plus $2.50 shipping.
The seventh edition of the Standard Catalog of World Paper
Money, Volume Two, General Issues has recently been
released. It covers all legal-tender issues of national
governments from the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries and has
been updated to include over 100 new notes from Estonia,
Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bosnia-
Herzegovina, the Ukraine, and other new states are listed.
All notes are valued in up to three grades of condition.
The publisher reports that work on updating Volume One,
which covers specialized issues, has begun and is expected
to be completed later this year.
Information supplied by the publisher.
*****
Standard Catalog of World Crowns and Talers from 1601 to
date. By Chester L. Krause and Clifford Mishler. Edited
by Colin R. Bruce II. Krause Publications, Iola, 1994.
Soft cover, 8 1/2 x 11 inches, 1,200+ pages with 10,000+
photographs. Available from Krause Publications, 700 E.
166
State Street, Iola, WI 54990. Price is $75.00 plus $2.50
shipping.
Four centuries of world crowns and talers accompanied by
the first complete pricing update in eight years are
compiled in this newly released volume. Listings for
issues up to 1800 are cross-referenced to Davenport
numbers. From 1800 on, numbers match the Standard Catalog
of World Coins.
Information supplied by the publisher.
********************************* ****** ************************ ******
COINS OF KING EDWARD VIII
Soli R. Icewalla, NI # 570
(Reprinted from NI Bulletin , November, 1972)
King Edward VIII (Duke of Windsor) sat on the throne of England for ten months
from January 20, 1936 to December 11, 1936. Though dies for his coinage (gold,
silver and bronze) bearing his head were prepared in Great Britain, only a few sets
were struck for national institutions and rdyalty.
The only coin to come out in public was a 12-sided 3 Pence coin which was a new
size and shape being tried out for the first time. One theory is that a few were
circulated to testing in vending machines. Anyhow, some did come in the market but
are very rare (the estimated number is 12).
Coins bearing his name were put into circulation by the British Commonwealth
Colonies of British West Africa, East Africa, Fiji, New Guinea and the native states
of Kutch and Jodhpur in India.
Unfortunately these coins do not bear his profile. He was very popular and handsome
and his profile on stamps is very attractive. It would have came out well if it had
been engraved on the coins.
Fiji, a Pacific island which recently became independent, issued a copper-nickel penny
in 1936. East Africa (later divided into Kenya, Uganda, Tanganyika, Zanzibar and
Somaliland) issued bronze 5 cent and 10 cents in the same year. British West Africa
issued 1/10 penny, 1/2 penny and 1 penny coins in copper-nickel, also dated 1936.
New Guinea, in 1936, issued a bronze 1 penny coin.
Silver coins commemorating the reign of Edward VIII were issued by Kutch, the then
Indian Native State. It issued silver coins in the denominations of 1 kori, 2-1/2 kori
and 5 kori and also copper 3 dokdas. These coins were issued by Maharaj Shri
Khengarjee Sawai Bahadur "in the name of King Edward VIII", and were dated 1936.
Raja Umaid Singh of Jodhpur, another Indian Native State, also issued a copper
quarter anna in the name of King Edward VIII.
These are the only coins of King Edward VIII known to have been issued.
167
MEMBER NOTICE PAGE
Howard A. Daniel ID, P. O. Box 626, Dunn Loring, VA 22027-0626: Vietnamese
cash-style coins; Schroeder 1-5, Toda 5, 11, 12, 18, 21-23, 37-38, 50-51, 53, 64-65,
Craig 192.2, 203, 271 and 281 wanted. If you do not have one to sell or trade, I
would like to know that you have one in your collection and a photocopy or rubbing
of both sides. Please call me at 1-703-560-0744 if you would like to talk to me about
your piece(s).
Jay Kristofferson, 4651 Geronimo St., Chandler, AZ 85226-5308: Research help
needed. Central American Republic and related 1822-1854 or so. I can use books,
coins, auction catalogs, inventories, any help at all. In spite of working on this
project for several years very few areas are close to completion. I can especially use
1/2, 1 and 2 Reales and gold 1/2, 1 and most 2 Escudos. Will pay catalog to double
catalog for most coins.
Frank Clark, P. O. Box 117060, Carrollton, Texas 75011-7060: WANTED:
Medlar book on Texas obsoletes and script. Please write.
Ralph A. Cannito Box 304, Washington, NJ 07882: WANTED - Islamic/Arabic:
all hammered silver coinage from 622 AD to 1900 AD. I am especially interested in
rupees, multiple and Nazarana rupees of Afghanistan, Indian Princely States and the
Mughal, Ottoman & Persian Empires. Buying one coin or a collection. Dealer and
collector offers are welcome. ANA R068117.
★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★
CHINESE SYMBOLISM: FENG-HUANG - THE BIRD OF PARADISE
Patrick D. Hogan , Iowa City , Iowa, NI LM #69
(Reprinted from NI Bulletin , March, 1971)
The Bird of Paradise is depicted on some coins. Westerners often call this animal a
"Phoenix", but such a creature does not exist in East Asian lore. The Chinese call the
mythical bird FENG=HUANG. It is the symbol of the Empress. It has five colors,
denoting the five virtues. Her only resting place is the WU-T’ING tree. She visits
man only during peace and is the incarnate of the Yin principle. She figures much
in wedding ceremonies. Numismatists have suggested that the so-called "Dragon and
Phoenix" design coins of the Republican government (Y-334-6) were meant to
commemorate the wedding of the Husan-t’ung Emperor to Princess Elizabeth Yaun
in 1922 (the title of emperor was not officially abolished by the Republican
government until 1924).
******************* **************** **********************************
"ABRAEMOS"
A gold coin said to have been struck by the Portuguese for their possessions in India
was called "Abraemos".
(Submitted by R. R. Kutcher)
168
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